Browsing: Ghana

Ghana’s case specifically plays out with the dramatic effect consistent with a Shakespearean tragedy. The west African nation ironically is a darling of the West in terms of foreign direct investment. Yet, its debt levels have breached what multilateral institutions consider to be sustainable. A painful irony in the case of Ghana is that it was offered the opportunity to renegotiate the terms of its debts through the World Bank’s Debt Service Suspension Initiative. However, Ghana did not elect to participate.

A second painful irony is that Ghana, this time around, does not owe most of its debts to multilateral institutions like the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank. It owes the bulk of its debt to private lenders like the world’s largest asset manager Black Rock, and its has expressed that it has no interest in renegotiating the terms of Ghana’s sovereign debt.

If Ghana had borrowed from …

Kenya is one of the six nations chosen to participate in the AfCFTA Initiative on Guided Trade’s pilot phase after it was realised that no trading had occurred one and a half years after the start of the preferential trading system on January 1, 2021.

The ninth meeting of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers charged for trade occurred on July 25 and 26, 2022, in Accra, Ghana, and announced the Start of Trade during the Pilot Phase.

Seven nations were chosen to test out commerce in the continental free trade zone for Africa during the summit, including Ghana, Kenya, Tunisia, Cameroon, Egypt, and Mauritius.

Despite being in different economic blocs than nations like Ghana and Tunisia, Kenya will now be able to access markets in Central Africa and West Africa at preferential prices thanks to the trial phase.…

A currency crisis is defined as a quick and abrupt depreciation of a country’s currency. Currency depreciation goes in tandem with turbulent markets and a loss of confidence in the country’s economy. Historically, crises have arisen when market expectations induce significant movements in the value of currencies.

The global economy is now in turmoil. As the world economy enters another era of a currency crisis, the value of the US dollar keeps rising. Over half of all international trade is billed in dollars. A stronger dollar thus hurts consumers globally, particularly in Africa, who rely on dollars to pay for imports.

The US Federal Reserve’s hawkish approach to increasing interest rates more aggressively than central banks in other major countries has contributed to the dollar’s appreciation. The fact that investors generally see the dollar as a “safe haven” asset during times of economic turmoil has added to its resilience.…

The AfCFTA Agreement has been signed by 54 African nations thus far.  Among them, 46 tariff proposals have been filed, including one by the Customs Union. Furthermore, 29 tariff proposals are technically validated for trade.

Under the Rules of Origin discussions, 87.7% of import tariffs have been settled, while phase two consultations on Investment, Intellectual Property Rights, Competition Policy, Women and Youth in Trade, and Digital Trade are underway.…

The report noted that the value of Africa’s mobile money transactions increased from US$495 billion in 2020 to US$701.4 billion in 2021. Research by American firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) affirmed that Kenya and Ghana are ranked second and third in mobile payment usage globally after China, the world’s most populated country.

During the period under review, transactions through mobile wallets and phones were the equivalent of 87 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Kenya and 82 per cent in Ghana.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank ranked Ghana as the fastest-growing mobile money market. That was not the case in 2009 when mobile money services were launched in the West African country. At that time, 70 per cent of Ghana’s population had no access to bank services, while approximately 35 per cent of citizens owned mobile phones.…

• The Ghanaian parliament has approved a proposal by the government to borrow up to US$750 million from Afreximbank
• A seven-year portion of the loan is broken up into two parts: one for US$102.19 million with an interest rate of 6.49 per cent overall, including fees, and another for 101 million dollars with a rate of 9.55 per cent overall
• In June, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta requested parliament to accelerate the authorisation of the loans

The Ghanaian parliament has authorised a proposal by the government to borrow up to US$750 million from the African Export-Import Bank for the 2022 budget.

In June, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta requested parliament to accelerate the authorisation of the loans.

However, differences have held up the process even though the country faces skyrocketing inflation, lacklustre economic growth and a tumbling local currency.

The vote by the deadlocked parliament eliminates a significant obstacle for the government of …